Moccasin blank



May 15, 1945. R $PE|GHT 2,375,961

MOGCAS IN BLANK Filed Dec. 21, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig: 3

May 15, 1945.

F. R. SPE IGHT MOCCASIN' BLANK Filed Dec. 21, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 15, 1945 MOCCASIN BLANK Francis R. Speight, Dedham, Mass., assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J a corporation of New Jersey Application December 21, 1942, Serial No. 469,629

' 1 Claim.

This invention relates to the manufacture of footwear. More particularly, the invention relates to improvements in blanks for moccasin Vamps.

An object of the present invention is to provide a moccasin vamp blank which permits the initial shaping of the vamp and the attachment of a toe piece or plug thereto without the aid of a last. To this end the invention contemplates the provision of a blank comprising a sole portion surrounded by a peripheral or marginal portion and characterized by the provision in its toe portion of a generally V-shaped cut-out, and characterized further by the provision of a V-notch in each edge of the cut-out at the junction of the sole portion and the marginal portion of the blank, the outer edges of the forepart of the blank being constructed and arranged to receive in abutting relation the edge of a plug. In the manufacture of moccasins from the illustrated moccasin vamp blank the opposed edges of the cut-out portions are brought together and secured in abutting relation by stitches, and a plug is then assembled with the forepart of the vamp and a backstay and a backstay and a moccasin collar are attached. At this stage, a last may be inserted if desired to impart final shape to the moccasin. Finally, an outsole is attached to the moccasin bottom in any desired manner.

The invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the appended claim.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a vamp blank formed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the blank after the forepart and heel ends have been stitched and a backstay applied;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the outside of the forepart;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the inside of the heel end of the vamp following the stitching operation and the application of the backstay;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a partially completed moccasin after the plug has been attached to the vamp; and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a completed moccasin formed in accordance with the invention.

The vamp is formed from a blank Ill (Fig. 1) having substantially straight and parallel side edges H at the heel end and curved converging edges l2 at the forepart. The forepart is formed with a re-entrant portion 14 bounded by curved, outwardly diverging side edges l6 and terminating in a V I8 which extends substantially rearwardly of the toe end of the moccasin after the blank has been formed into a vamp. V-notches 20 extend inwardly from the edges of the i'e-entrant portion approximately midway thereof. The curved edges I2 of the blank are preferably skived at 22 to provide a beveled surface for the plug which is to be attached to the vamp after the toe and heel ends of the vamp have been formed.

The heel end of th blank has a re-entrant portion 24 bounded by conVeXly curved side edges 26 and a triangular recess 28 the apex of which lies between the inner ends of the edges 26,

In forming the blank Ill into a moccasin vamp, the edges of the re-entrant portion I4 at the toe end rearwardly of the recesses 20 are brought into abutting relation and secured together by a zigzag line of stitching 30. This imparts transverse and longitudinal curvatures to the toe end of the blank and narrows the forepart as required in the finished moccasin. The edges of the recesses 20 are next brought together and secured by a zigzag line of stitching 32 which causes the portions of the blank forwardly of the recesses to be inclined upwardly relatively to the remainder of the blank and to be curved inwardly toward each other. Finally, the curved edges l6 are secured together by a regular closing seam 34 so that the forepart has the shape shown in Fig. 2.

The heel end is formed by bringin the edges defining the sides of the triangular recess 28 into abutment with the edge defining the base of the recess and securing these edges together by a zigzag line of stitching 36 (Fig. 4). The curved edges 26 are then secured together by a similar line of stitching 38 which produces the desired curvature at the heel end of the moccasin. A backstay 40 is then secured to the heel end of the moccasin to reinforce the seam 38. The vamp now has the appearance illustrated in Fig. 2 and is ready for the attachment of a plug 42 (Fig. 5). The plug may be secured to the vamp in any suitable manner, as by coating its edges with adhesive and assembling it with the vamp the beveled edges of which have been previously adhesively coated. The plug may then be permanently secured to the vamp by a l ne of stitching 44. The attachment of the plug 42 to the vamp holds the edges of the vamp in the desired relationship to each other at the forepart. A moccasin collar 46 may then be attached to the vamp in any suitable manner, for example as illustrated in Letters Patent of the United States No. 2,212,610, granted August 27, 1940, on an application of H. S. Lyness.

Up to this point all of the operations on the moccasin have been done without th support of a last and, by reason of the shape and stitching of the blank from which the vamp is formed, the moccasin has substantially the desired shape. A last may now be inserted, if desired, to impart the final shape to the moccasin after which an outsole 48 may be secured to the moccasin bottom. By this method a moccasin is produced from a one-piece vamp withoutthe necessity of any lasting operation, the last being employed only after the various moccasin parts have been assembled;

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

A blank for a moccasin vamp having a toe portion and a heel portion, said blank comprising a sole portion surrounded by a peripheral or marginal portion, said blank being characterized by the provision in its toe portion of a generally V- shaped cut-out and, further, by the provision of a V-notch in each edge of the cut-out at the junction of the sole portion and the marginal portion of the blank, theouter edges of the forepart of the blank'being constructed and arranged to receive in abutting relation the edge of a plug.

FRANCIS R. SPEIGHT. 

